Back At Camp Half-Blood
by didnotthinkofthat
Summary: Percy and Annabeth are down in Tartarus, but how do Camp Half-Blood react when they hear that?


Leo's POV

Leo had had some really, really rough days lately. Just 5 days ago, Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus. Then the day after, the Argo II had been attacked by wind spirits, and the day after that they'd been attacked by some Cyclops as they were down on earth to get some supplies, and the day after that … yeah, it had just continued that way.

And as if all those things weren't enough, the whole crew had been in bad mood. Everyone blamed themselves for Percy and Annabeth being dragged into Tartarus. Hedge had kept walking around, hitting himself with his club murmuring things like: "I should've jumped down there!" or "If I had been with them they would definitely survive!"

Jason kept saying: "I should've flied down there and rescued them!" Every time that happened Nico just reassured him that he would've been dragged down there, too, and then all three of them would've been in Tartarus.

Piper kept gazing at the horizon, deep in her own thoughts. Now and then, she would look at her dagger for a moment, and then shake her head, before gazing at the horizon again.

Hazel and Frank sat by the table in the diner room, talking about whatever they were talking about.

Nico was with Jason and Leo in the control room. He didn't talk much; he just looked like he was in pain.

Everyone seemed to be with Percy and Annabeth down in Tartarus.

Leo really wasn't an excuse. He kept thinking about what would've happened if he hadn't opened that damn fortune cake, maybe Percy and Annabeth would've been with the rest of the crew aboard on the Argo II.

Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Nico and Leo had decided to fly back to Camp Half-Blood, because the Romans were going to attack the camp. But if he had to be honest, Leo really didn't want to go back to Camp Half-Blood at the current moment … not with the bad news they came with. He rather wanted to go directly to the House of Hades and then wait for Percy and Annabeth.

But the Romans could start their attack on Camp Half-Blood any time, and Leo and his friends had to stop the fight. They couldn't effort starting a new Civil War – not while Gaea was awakening. Even Leo was smart enough to know that.

Still he had a feeling that the Greeks weren't going to take it very nice. For the gods' sake, few weeks ago, Annabeth had gone with the Argo II to get the camp's long lost leader, Percy, and now the rest of the crew was coming back only to say that they'd lost both of their leaders now. Or not actually _lost –_ at least not yet – but the Argo II was coming back without Percy and Annabeth.

Suddenly Leo could see the camp. "Guys! We're almost there!"

They all started to get ready to fight.

When they finally hovered over the camp, Leo looked down at the camp, hoping that the fight hadn't begun, yet.

No such luck. He could see people fighting almost wherever she looked. He even noticed some hunters, satyrs, dryads and naiads among the demigods.

Jason was the first one to get off the ship (he jumped down even before the ship had landed) then Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Nico and Coach Hedge ran out as soon as possible.

Leo looked at Piper. "Try to do your thing."

Piper got the message. "Guys!" she yelled and put all effort in her charmspeaking. "Stop fighting!"

It didn't work much but then a lightning struck the ground, and Leo stared at Jason. Then he realized that everyone else did, too.

"Are you done?" Jason asked glaring from one demigod to another. He was acting like a real leader. "You know, fighting is not going to solve anything."

At first nothing happened, but then Reyna stepped forward.

"Jason," she said coldly.

"Look, Reyna, I'm sorry about New Rome …" Jason started dumbly.

"Your friend almost burned down the city!" Octavian yelled, pointed at Leo.

Everyone stared at Leo now, who was feeling pretty uncomfortable. It was true. That, too, was his fault. How many things did he actually have on his conscience? He counted: his mom died because of him, Percy and Annabeth ended down in Tartarus because of him, the Romans were attacking Camp Half-Blood, because Leo attacked their city, it was also his fault that …

"Leo? What …?" Nyssa asked, interrupting Leo's thoughts. She didn't look like she wanted to believe it.

"He was possessed by an eidolon!" Piper protested, starring at Reyna. "It was not his fault!"

Leo knew he wasn't very good with girls, but even he could see the negative tension between Piper and Reyna – they both looked like they were ready to kill the other.

"Guys!" Jason interrupted with a strong power in his voice. "We have more important matters to …"

"Wait! Where are Annabeth and Percy?" Malcolm, from the Athena Cabin demanded.

Now Jason looked uneasy. He looked from Piper to Leo to Nico to Frank to Hazel. None of them really wanted to explain what had happened. They just kept staring at each other, expecting any of the others to explain what had happened.

After a few seconds Hazel spoke. "They're … um …" – she sighed as if realizing there was no easy way to explain – "not … here right now."

"Where are they, then?" Clarisse asked impatient.

"Well," Piper said, "I guess we have to start with Annabeth retrieving the Athena Parthenos from Arachne."

Some Athena kids gasped, others just looked horrified.

"Annabeth tricked Arachne to weave her own trap," Leo continued. "When we came to rescue her, Arachne was gone. As Jason, Piper, Frank, Hedge and I was securing the Athena Parthenos, Annabeth was dragged towards a chasm in the cavern."

"She was tangled in some spider silk." Hazel explained. "Percy grabbed Annabeth's arm, but he was pulled with her. He managed to grab a ledge some feet below the top of the chasm. Annabeth tried to tell him to let her go, but he refused. He let go of the ledge instead."

Piper sank. "That chasm led to Tartarus."

It took a few seconds before somebody realized what she was saying.

Thalia gasped. "No!"

Some Greeks started to cry, while others just stood speechless. Then a lot of people bombarded Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank and Nico with questions.

Actually, Leo thought they were taking it pretty nicely – they hadn't thrown any weapons at them, yet. Neither had they begun blame anyone.

"Why didn't you do something?" Leo heard Clarisse demand.

"Guys!" Nico yelled, interrupting all the demigods. "They're not dead!"

"How … how do you know?" an Athena girl asked. Her eyes were puffy after crying. She didn't look older than 10 years old. In Leo's opinion, she was too young to be a part of this war.

He hadn't heard much of Percy's or Annabeth's stories, but he did know that Annabeth had been 7 when she ran away from home and lived on her own for a couple of weeks, and that Percy had been 12 when he suddenly was accused of stealing Zeus' master bolt. Leo guessed that the fates really didn't care about age at all.

Once again, Leo's thoughts were interrupted – this time by Hazel.

"A child of Hades/Pluto is able to sense that." Hazel said. "They're alive … at least so far."

"I've already told Jason and the others this, but Percy is the strongest demigod I've ever met. He can survive this – especially with Annabeth by his side," Nico said.

"He's right," Chiron said. "Percy is very strong."

"But you've always said that no mortal has ever survived Tartarus!" Travis Stoll pointed out.

Nico scratched his neck. "That's … that's not completely true."

Almost everyone looked confused. Leo couldn't blame them; he would've been, too, if he hadn't already heard the story.

"I've been there, and I survived it," Nico explained. "And since I survived … then Percy and Annabeth should be able to get out alive, too."

Rachel looked at Nico. "When are you going to meet Percy and Annabeth by the doors of death?"

"How …" Frank asked in disbelief.

Rachel smiled sadly. "I'm the oracle. I know lots of things."

Octavian started to say something, but he was interrupted by Reyna.

"Just answer the question."

"Well, they should be by the doors of death in about a week," Nico said.

"Then who's going to seal the doors?" Rachel asked.

"That would be us, of course," Jason said, pointing at Piper, Leo, Hazel and Frank.

"No," Rachel said and shook her head. "You don't get it; the doors have to be closed from both sides!"

Nico suddenly looked even gloomier than before. He coughed once. "I guess, that would be me."

"No!" Thalia exclaimed.

Grover sighed, as if he was thinking about something that had happened. "You know just as well as I that Percy and Annabeth both are going to want to do it. We can't let them."

Reyna was the one to ask the question everyone, who didn't know Percy and Annabeth very well, also wanted to ask: "Why? I mean, why would they go back there?"

"Because of their fatal flaws," Grover replied sadly. "Percy's is loyalty. He's too loyal. To save a friend, he would sacrifice the world."

"And Annabeth's is deadly pride," Thalia explained. "She believes she can do anything on her own."

"There's no way any of them will let anyone else go through that. I'd have to push them out and seal the doors before they can stop me," Nico said. "And let's just face it! After all those things they've done for me, I kind of owe them."

"But I'm the one that messed up!" Leo protested. "If it wasn't for me, Percy and Annabeth wouldn't even _be _in Tartarus!"

Jason frowned at Leo. "Why do you keep say that?"

"Leo!" Hazel said before Leo could answer Jason's question. "It's _not _your fault! You used that … _gift_ to save Frank and me. You couldn't know that _she_ would send Percy and Annabeth into Tartarus to restore balance!"

Leo didn't know why Hazel omitted to mention the fortune cookie and Nemesis, but he didn't ask.

"But I knew she'd want something!"

"It's either _this_ or Frank and I being the demigods who's blood was going to wake Gaea for real!" Hazel told Leo. "Tell me, what would you choose?"

Leo didn't know what to answer. He could see Hazel's point. Heck, he could see it all too well! If it meant that nobody was going to be sacrificed to Gaea, Leo really rather wanted Percy and Annabeth down in Tartarus – no matter how bad it was down there – as long as they had a chance to survive, which Nico and Hazel meant they did.

"Do I want to know what you're talking about?" Jason asked with raised eyebrows.

"Nope," Leo and Hazel said in unison.

"I thought so."

"Chiron, you've been so silent through this whole conversation," Rachel noticed. She was right, Leo realized; Chiron hadn't said more than one sentence.

He looked at Rachel with a wistful look in his eyes, but on the same time he looked like his thoughts were everywhere and nowhere.

Everyone waited for Chiron to say something – even the Romans.

Finally, after a few minutes, he said, "I don't think that Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel or Frank will end up closing the doors of death from Tartarus. Nor will Percy and Annabeth, for that matter's sake."

"And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where Chiron and Annabeth would one of their silent conversations," Conner Stoll said.

For once, Rachel looked confused. "I'm not sure what you mean, Chiron."

"I mean, that it could be _anyone, _just not any of the seven of the prophesy," Chiron explained. He and Rachel seemed to have a silent conversation.

"Everyone – except cabin counselor and the Roman leader – go back to their normal activities. Romans, you can do whatever you want to, just _please, _do not destroy our camp."

All the Greeks did what had been told, but the Romans just stood still until Reyna turned towards them. "You heard him. Go do whatever you want – just don't destroy anything."

The Romans left, too.

Then only Leo, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Rachel, Reyna, Chiron, Thalia, Grover, Nico and the Greek cabin counselors and some few Romans were left.

"_Seven half-bloods shall answer the call/to storm or fire, the world must fall_." Rachel quoted. "The storm – that's Percy and Jason, isn't it?" She looked at Chiron.

"Then the fire must be Leo!" Will Solace exclaimed.

Leo and Jason exchanged looks.

Thalia thought for a moment. "_An oath to keep with a final breath,_" she quoted. "What does that mean?"

Now, everyone's brains seemed to be working on overtime – even Leo's.

Only Nico seemed to understand it, but he didn't say anything about it; instead he just quoted the last part: "_And foes bear arms to the doors of death._"

"That must be us – Greeks and Romans, cooperating, fighting together, as a team, against Gaea's army by the doors of death." Reyna said.

"No matter what," Chiron said, "we can't be sure what those phrases means; they can mean anything. Prophesies are always ambiguous. All Greeks surely remember the last Great prophesy."

Clarisse, Thalia, Grover, Nico and all the others, who were there during the second titan war, nodded slowly.

Piper bit her lower lip while Jason was scratching his neck. Just like everyone else, they seemed to be considering all options.

"Can we even be sure, that the fire and storm is something else but just a simple fire or storm? Or that it wouldn't be caused by Gaea if she awakens?" Jason asked.

"No, we cannot," Chiron answered.

"So, what do we do now?" Travis asked. For once he and Conner were dead serious. Leo hadn't seen them like that many times before. Actually, he'd only seen them like that during council meetings. But, of what Leo had been told, the Stoll brothers knew when to be serious.

"Isn't that obvious?" Clarisse asked. "We have to go and meet Percy and Annabeth by the doors of death and seal the doors."

Rachel shook her head. "No … that's should only be Jason, Piper, Leo and …" – she looked at Hazel and Frank – "sorry, I don't know your names."

"I'm Hazel, and that's Frank." Hazel said.

Rachel gave Hazel a quick smile. "Everyone else should focus on fighting the monsters that'll be there."

Katie Gardner frowned. "Why? Why shouldn't we help sealing the doors?"

"I don't know, okay?" Rachel said with a shrill voice. "It's just a hunch!"

"They're going to make it, Rachel," Thalia said with a soft voice.

Rachel buried her face in her hands. "I know, it's just … Something just tells me, that their pattern is going to be harder than ever … and …"

"And their pattern has always been pretty rough," Grover finished.

Thalia crossed her arms. "Yeah, you of all people would know that. You were there from the beginning, while I was busy being a tree."

Clarisse snorted. "At least you got to electrocute Percy. He broke my electrical spear before I could do it."

"Anyways," Jason interrupted. "We got to be by the doors of death in a week, at least."

"And it is times like this I wish, we hadn't destroyed the Labyrinth. We got Rachel now." Grover said.

Rachel flinched. "There's no way I'm going back there!"

"Me neither!" Clarisse added.

While the other discussed how to get to the doors of death, Leo just stared towards the forest. _We're coming, guys, _he thought and wished Percy and Annabeth could hear his thoughts. _We'll get you out of there._


End file.
